Kool Keith Says He Thought Tim Dog's Death Was "A Hoax," Remembers The Former Ultramagnetic MC

Exclusive: Ultramagnetic's founder Kool Keith talks Tim Dog's passing and reveals that he could have been a member of Boogie Down Productions during the group's formative days.

In a tribute show that consisted of more than 20 songs and lasted nearly two hours, Kool Keith reminisced with fans in honor of his fallen Hip Hop colleague. On his way to Columbus, Ohio’s Ace of Cups for his scheduled performance Keith was informed of Tim Dog’s death, something he didn’t believe when broken the news.

“Tonight, I really thought it was a publicity stunt. It still hasn’t [sunk] in my system,” he said. “I don’t know. I still can’t believe this happened. Once I get with the group, we’ll all really feel it more.”

While the show was at its peak and about five songs into his set, Keith interrupted the constant flow of classic tracks for the first time to tell the audience that Tim Dog had in fact passed and asked for a moment of silence for his fallen brother.

“Can we just have a moment of silence in the name of Tim Dog, and after that we going to party in the name of Tim Dog?” Keith’s hype man Cito said during the interlude.

Sitting down exclusively with HipHopDX, Kool Keith gave his reaction to the death of former Ultramagnetic MC, Tim Dog.

“I’m just doing my condolences, but I still can’t believe,” said Keith speaking on the moment of silence. “I’m still thinking this is a stunt, 'cause Tim was usually good with stunts. But like you said, it’s real, and I understand his health conditions and stuff like that.”

The news of Tim Dog’s death came as a surprise to the Hip Hop world. Thursday was a time of sorrow, but it was also a time to remember the life of one of the Bronx’s greatest. Tim’s Penicillin On Wax and breakout single “Fuck Compton” became some of his more notable musical contributions, however Keith remembered the person, Timothy Blair.

“I always hung out with Tim, [and] Tim liked to go eat,” Keith recalled. “That’s one of his favorite things; we’d go to the clubs together, strip clubs, anywhere. I mean, real good person, kind-hearted. I stayed with Tim in Atlanta many times.”

Keith also mentioned that in the early days of Ultramagnetic MCs he could have possibly been a member of Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One could have also been a part of Ultramagnetic as well.

“[In a yet-to-be-released documentary, KRS-One] was saying that I could have easily been down with Boogie Down Productions, he could have been with Ultramagnetic. I mean the group was, we was always together...a lot of people don’t know that KRS was with the celebrity three originally, they wasn’t even called Boogie Down Productions.”

On Valentine's Day, Timothy “Tim Dog” Blair passed away after allegedly suffering a seizure, the cause of which is believed to be a result of his long-standing fight with diabetes. Tim Dog was 46 years old at the time of his death.